"Collaboration will create a bigger economic opportunity. So, Indonesia and Singapore currently have no competition," Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto said here on Wednesday.
After all, according to Hartarto, the two countries are actively and increasingly aggressive in establishing strategic cooperation, such as partnership in the industrial sector, human resources development, and research and development activities.
Hartarto made the remarks at the Indonesia-Singapore Business Roundtable on the sidelines of the Industrial Transformation Asia-Pacific (ITAP) 2018 in Singapore.
The event was attended by government officials, solutions providers, industry players, academics, and business associates.
The minister noted that the strategic steps taken by Indonesia and Singapore aimed at mutually meeting the needs of the two countries, so that it will eventually bring mutual benefit and prosperity to the people of the two neighboring nations.
"Hence, improving cooperation and readiness to enter the current 4.0 industry revolution will be the right means to boost productivity," he added.
Hartarto also remarked that each country has a mutually supportive advantage, especially in the middle of the digital era.
For example, Indonesia already has four startups that achieve unicorn status or have a business valuation of more than US$1 billion.
"Currently, there are Go-Jek, Traveloka, Bukalapak and Tokopedia, and we are projecting that in the coming years, there will be another startup that also achieves unicorn status," he revealed.
Meanwhile, Singapore is the largest investor in Indonesia as it has invested up to $8.4 billion, or contributing 26.2 percent, of the total foreign investment in Indonesia throughout 2017.
This achievement surpassed Japan by $5 billion (15.5 percent), China by $3.4 billion (10.4 percent), Hong Kong by $2.1 billion (6.6 percent), and South Korea by $20 billion (6.3 percent).
In the first half of 2018, Singapore`s investment in Indonesia was recorded at $5.04 billion, or up 38 percent over the same period last year.
"In 2017, the value of Indonesia`s non-oil exports to Singapore reached $9 billion, making Singapore the fifth-largest destination in shipment of national manufacturing products," he pointed out.
Reporting by Sella Panduarsa Gareta
Editing by Andi Abdussalam, Suharto
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
